Tag: Crosby Stills Nash & Young

America’s vocal harmonies and smooth folk rock sound make for one of the best ’70s greatest hits compilations

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I was nine or 10 years old when I listened to History: America’s Greatest Hits for the first time. The album grabbed me right from the beginning. It was one of the vinyl records my older sister had, which among others also included Carole King’sTapestry; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’sDéjà Vu; and Simon & Garfunkel’sGreatest Hits – all albums I dig to this day.

Recently, I rediscovered History. To me, it’s one of the best greatest hits compilations I know, which were released in the ’70s. Others that come to my mind are Neil Young’sDecade, Eagles’Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975), Santana’s Greatest Hits, Steely Dan’sGreatest Hits and the aforementioned Simon & Garfunkel album. There are probably some others I’m forgetting – in any case, it’s not meant to be a complete list.

I recall reading somewhere that America were dismissed by some as a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young knock-off. While I generally don’t think highly of music critics in the first place, I feel this notion is silly. Yes, America’s three-part harmony vocals are reminiscent of CSN/CSNY, but this doesn’t make them a copycat or somehow bad artists! On the contrary, if anything, the vocal similarity to CSN/CSNY is a huge accomplishment – after all, there aren’t many bands that can harmonize like CSN/CSNY did! On to History.

America (from left): Gerry Beckley, Dan Peek & Dewey Bunnell

Released in November 1975, History encompasses America’s 11 most successful singles at the time, plus an edited take of Sandman from their December 1971 eponymous debut. In addition to that album, History includes material from four additional studio records: Homecoming (November 1972), Hat Trick (October 1973), Holiday (June 1974) and Hearts (March 1975).

History opens with one of my favorite America tunes: A Horse With No Name from their debut album. It was written by Dewey Bunnell, who formed America with Dan Peek and Gerry Beckley in London in 1970. The three had met there in the mid-’60s as high school students whose fathers were stationed on a nearby U.S. Air Force base.

A Horse With No Name became America’s most successful single topping the Billboard Hot 100. It also stirred some controversy due to the similarity of Bunnell’s voice to Neil Young, and what some viewed as mediocre lyrics. Coincidentally, the song knocked Young’s Heart Of Gold off the Billboard Hot 100 top spot. I really don’t care whether it sounds like Young, who by the way is one of my favorite artists. With its two chords and killer harmony vocals, this tune simply gives me goosebumps each time I hear it.

Ventura Highway, another Bunnell composition, is from the Homecoming album. When I listen to this song and close my eyes, I can literally picture myself in an open convertible driving on the Pacific Coast Highway 1 from L.A. up north to San Francisco. I actually did that trip in 1980 as a 14-year-old, together with my parents. Even though we had a lame station wagon as a rental, not some hot convertible, it was an unforgettable experience! Ventura Highway became a top 10 Billboard single for America, reaching no. 8 and no. 3 on the Hot 100 and Easy Listening charts, respectively.

Another beautiful tune is Lonely People, which was credited to Dan Peek and his wife Catherine Peek. The song was written a few weeks after their marriage. An obituary in TMR that appeared in the wake of Peek’s death in July 2011 at the age of 60 quotes him: “I wrote it probably within a month of getting married to my long-lost love Catherine…I always felt like a melancholy, lonely person. And now I felt like I’d won.” America initially recorded Lonely People for their fourth studio album Holiday. It topped the Billboard Easy Listening chart and peaked at no. 5 on the Hot 100.

One of my favorite songs on History written by Gerry Beckley is Sister Golden Hair. Recorded for America’s fifth studio album Hearts, the tune also became the band’s second no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The lyrics were inspired by Jackson Browne. In this context, John Corbett’sAmerica Revisited quotes Beckley: “Jackson Browne has a knack, an ability to put words to music, that is much more like the L.A. approach to just genuine observation as opposed to simplifying it down to its bare essentials… and it was that style of his which led to a song of mine, “Sister Golden Hair,” which is probably the more L.A. of my lyrics.” I guess this means in addition to CSN/CSNY, America also stole from Browne – unbelievable!

The last song I’d like to call out is the final track on the History compilation: Woman Tonight. It’s another tune from the Hearts album and was written by Peek. Released as the third single, it charted within the top 50 in the U.S.

History was produced by none other than George Martin, who had started working with America on their fourth studio album Holiday. Martin also remixed the first seven tracks on History, which he had not produced originally. The compilation became a huge success in the U.S., giving America a no. 3 on the Billboard 200. In October 1986, the Recording Industry Association of America certified the album 4X Multi-Platinum.

Since History, America have released 12 additional studio albums, 10 live records and numerous other compilations. Now in their 48th year, America continue to perform, featuring co-founders Beckley and Bunnell. Peek left the band in May 1977, long before his death, after he had renewed his Christian faith.

The band’s current tour schedule on their website is filled with dates until January 2019. After playing the MTV music festival Gibraltar Calling in the British overseas territory on September 21, the band is off to a series of gigs in the U.S., including Denver (Sep 27), Emporia, KS (Sep 28), Dodge City, KS (Sep 29), San Jose (Oct 4) and San Diego (Oct 5), before going back over the Atlantic to Israel and doing some shows in Europe.

Harmony vocals and warm guitar-driven sound feel like trip back to late ’60s and early ’70s

Until a few weeks ago, I hadn’t heard of Cordovas. Then I saw the Americana rock band from East Nashville, Tenn. in a free summer concert in the park in Woodbridge, N.J. and immediately liked what I heard. Frankly, I’m still a bit in disbelief they played there in the first place but, hey, that’s how they got on my radar screen, so I’m not complaining! Today, they released what I understand is their second studio album, That Santa Fe Channel, and it’s a real beauty.

Listening to Cordovas feels a bit like taking a journey back in time to the late ’60s and early ’70s, a period in music I love. Sometimes, my dear wife tells me I grew up during the wrong decade – she may be right about it!:-) Anyway, Cordovas’ beautiful triple-stacked harmony vocals and guitar-driven sound remind me of bands like Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, The Band, Grateful Dead, Eagles and Little Feat.

Billboardcalled Cordovas’ music a blend of Southern and California Americana. Rolling Stone, in a June 2017 feature titled 10 New Country Artists You Need To Know, described their sound as “decidedly American” and “caught halfway between Duane Allman’s Telecaster twang, the Dead’s hazy harmonies and the stoned swoon of California’s folk-rock heyday.”

I could never come up with such clever attributes, which is why I probably wouldn’t get far as a music journalist. But while I may be challenged to find the right buzz words, given my former band days as a bassist (admittedly many moons ago!) and close to four decades of listening experience, I feel confident enough to say that This Santa Fe Channel is great music, since I know it when I hear it! Of course, ultimately, it comes down to individual taste.

Led by bassist Joe Firstman, Cordovas have been around for some time. According to Billboard, the first album released under their name appeared in 2011 and essentially was a solo effort by Firstman. Firstman has a long history predating the band, which includes a 2002 solo debut album, War Of Women, and a stint as music director on Last Call with Carson Daly. “For this one [the new album] we had the idea to make it a band and go forward to do it,” he told Billboard. “I saw the weaknesses in that first (solo) process and I recognized that I felt like I was much stronger in the band, with guys that I really trust and are like-minded individuals. I wanted to build something that would last.”

The band’s current line-up, which also includes Toby Weaver (guitar, vocals), Lucca Soria (guitar, vocals), Sevans Henderson (keyboards) and Graham Spillman (drums), has been together for five years. Cordovas are exceptionally tight-knit. Not only are they band mates who tour prolifically, but they also live together in the same compound in East Nashville. “The Cordovas are a 24-hour, 7-days-a-week job,” explains Firstman on the band’s Facebook page. “We’re eating dinner together, hanging out together, and making art. We don’t have rehearsal times, because rehearsal is always. You have to honor the art first, and everything else comes second.” I think it’s fair to say these conditions wouldn’t work for most bands, so kudos to Cordovas for their extraordinary commitment. Time to let some music do the talking, or perhaps I should better say the writing!

Here’s the album’s opener This Town’s A Drag. This tune nicely sets the tone for the record: Great harmony singing and a warm sound blending electric and pedal steel guitar.

Selfish Loner is the longest track on the album, clocking in at just over four and a half minutes. Most tunes are only around three minutes or less. In fact, the nine songs on the album only total about 29 minutes altogether.

Here’s Frozen Rose, one of two tunes Cordovas had released as a single ahead of the album.

The last tune I’d like to highlight is Standin’ On The Porch, which in addition to country rock throws in some blues. I also dig the tune’s groove.

That Santa Fe Channel was produced by Kenneth Pattengale, a singer and guitarist in American indie folk duo The Milk Carton Kids. The album appears on ATO Records, an independent New York-based label founded in 2000 by Dave Matthews and manager Coran Capshaw. Among others, their roster includes Alabama Shakes.

Cordovas are currently where they appear to be most of the time – on the road. Their present U.S. schedule posted on their website goes until early October. Upcoming gigs include Chicago (Aug 16), Washington, D.C. (Aug 23), Fort Worth (Aug 30) and Cleveland (Sep 5). Earlier this year, the band toured in Europe.

Buffalo Springfield, who definitely deserve an own post, may well have been called “Buffalo Springboard.” After the Canadian-American folk rock band broke up in May 1968, Stephen Stills got together with David Crosby and Graham Nash to form Crosby, Stills & Nash; Neil Young launched his solo career and later joined CSN; and Richie Furay (vocals, rhythm guitar) co-founded Poco, together with Jim Messina (lead guitar, vocals), Rusty Young (pedal steel guitar, banjo, dobro, guitar, mandolin, vocals), George Grantham (drums, vocals) and Randy Meisner (bass, vocals). Messina also served as the band’s producer. They called their debut album Pickin’ Up The Pieces, a reference to Springfield’s break-up, and boy did they live up to the title!

I rarely find myself agreeing with the editors of Apple Music, but in this case, I think they got it right. They boldly call the record “an album that’s every bit as good as anything the Springfield did.” Poco is considered to be one of the pioneers of country rock, years before the Eagles popularized the genre. And yet, compared to records from CSN and Young that came out around the same time Poco released their debut in May 1969, the latter only accomplished moderate chart visibility. It would take the band almost a decade before scoring a commercial success with the excellent Legend, the band’s 11th studio release from November 1978. Back to Pickin’ Up The Pieces.

Furay was involved in most of the writing of the album’s music, either as the sole writer or a co-writer. Various of his songs date back to the time with Springfield. In this context, Wikipedia specifically notes What A Day. While Meisner participated in the recording sessions, he was asked to leave the band prior to the record’s release over disagreements with Furay, who for some reason insisted that only he and Messina could participate in the final mixing sessions. As a result, Meisner’s vocals were re-recorded by Grantham. He was also replaced on the cover with a dog. Only this bass parts were kept – egos in rock. Time for some music!

I’d like to kick things off with the above mentioned What A Day. That song grabbed me immediately with it’s powerful opening It’s a good morning and I’m feeling fine. The vocal harmonies are an absolute killer and definitely rival the magic of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. I also dig the tune’s groove. Apparently, Poco didn’t release any singles from the record. I wonder how that tune would have fared as a single.

Calico Lady is another standout to me – more terrific harmony singing and nice acoustic and electric guitar work. Also, I’ve never heard a dog play such a groovy bass line! The song is credited to Furay, Messina and Skip Goodwin.

Among the tunes that sound more like straight rock is Short Changed, another track written by Furay. The rugged lead guitar is a bit reminiscent of Neil Young. I would bet this is one of the songs Furay wrote during his Buffalo Springfield days.

The album’s title track is traditional country rock. This was the first song Poco recorded and appears to be another tune Furay wrote during the Buffalo Springfield era. According to Wikipedia, commenting on the song, Furay said, “To me it summarized the attitude we wanted to convey in our music: good, wholesome & positive. There was so much negativity going on in the world in the early 70s and it needed a refreshing sound. The country rock sound we were creating would be it. We were innovators, pioneering the way for a whole new ‘Southern California sound’ that many groups who followed would capitalize on.”

The last track I’d like to call out is Grand Junction. The instrumental, yet another piece written by Furay, has a groove that is similar to The Allman Brothers’Jessica.

From Pickin’ Up The Pieces Poco went on to record 18 additional studio albums, the most recent of which appeared in March 2013. There are also nine live records and multiple compilations. In 1974, Furay left Poco, discovered Christianity, formed Christian rock band Souther, Hillman, Furay and in 1983 became a senior pastor in Bloomfield, Colo. He continues to perform to the present day. Messina left the band in 1971, following the release of their live album Deliverin’ to focus on producing. He then hooked up with Kenny Loggins to form Loggins & Messina. Following his exit from Poco, Meisner joined the Stone Canyon Band and in September 1971 became a co-founding member of the Eagles.

Poco is still around. Rusty Young remains the only co-founding member. The current line-up also includes Jack Sundrud (guitar, bass, vocals), Rick Lonow (drums, percussion) and Michael Webb (keyboards, guitars, accordion, vocals). While at the end of 2013 Young announced his official retirement, he still tours with the band. He also released his first solo album Waitin’ For The Sun last year.

Poco is currently touring the U.S. If you happen to live in or near Melbourne or Jacksonville, Fla., you can see the guys this Thursday or Friday. There are four additional scheduled gigs for 2018, as well as three dates for February and March 2019. Based on the schedule, it doesn’t look like Poco is planning to call it quits anytime soon.

For a guy who has listened to music for now more than 40 years, I have to make a somewhat embarrassing admission: Until a few days ago, essentially, I hadn’t known anything about the Grateful Dead. Then, fellow blogger Intogroove, who had done a two-part series on the Dead, was kind enough to give me a few recommendations to start my long overdue exploration of the band. While after two days of fairly intense listening to some of their albums I certainly haven’t become a Dead expert, I’m ready to boldly declare myself a Deadhead – even if all the music I’ve yet to hear (and there is plenty left!) should turn out to be horrible, which I highly doubt!

So why the hell did it take me so long to realize how grate, I mean great, these guys are? For some reason, I always thought that with their marathon concerts and endless instrumental jams, the Dead would be a hard-to-acquire taste. Sure, some may find a 15-minute-plus jam of Fire On The Mountain on their Cornell 5/8/77 live album a bit heavy, and I know there are even longer tunes, but I don’t find anything terrible about it – on the contrary, I actually love that song! And then, of course one needs to realize there’s a significant difference between the studio Dead and the live Dead.

At least I had been aware of Jerry Garcia (lead guitar, vocals), who together with Bob Weir (rhythm guitar, vocals), Ron McKernan (keyboards, harmonica), Phil Lesh (bass, vocals) and Bill Kreutzmann (drums) founded Grateful Dead in the San Francisco area in 1965. I’m not going to recap their history here. I had first heard of Garcia in connection with the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young album Déjà Vu, one of my all-time favorite records, for which he played pedal steel guitar on Teach Your Children Well. According to Wikipedia, in exchange CSNY helped the Dead with their harmony singing on their albums Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty. Both are among the Dead records I’ve listened to and come to dig immediately.

Following is a playlist of Dead songs I like, based on what I’ve heard thus far. Obviously, this is by no means meant to be complete. Considering the band’s prolific output, I don’t think it’s even possible to come up with a playlist that’s completely representative, unless perhaps one does the equivalent to some of their live jams! So here we go.

One thing I noticed is that in addition to original tunes, the Dead had some great covers. One I like in particular is Good Morning, Little School Girl from their debut The Grateful Dead released in March 1967. The tune, which has been covered by many artists, was written and first recorded by Sonny Boy Williamson in 1937.

Casey Jones is from Dead’s forth studio album, the above mentioned Workingman’s Dead, which appeared in June 1970. The track was co-written by Garcia (music) and Robert Hunter (lyrics), who frequently worked with the band. I was also happy to realize that I had heard the tune before.

The follow-on album to Workingman’s Dead was American Beauty from November 1970. Two records released with barely six months in-between is pretty amazing, especially by today’s standards! Anyway, here’s the seductive, groovy Truckin’, which is credited to Gracia, Lesh, Weir and Hunter.

Now, I’m going to make a big jump to July 1987, when Dead released what became their most commercially successful studio album In The Dark. Among others, it includes the catchy Touch Of Grey, another song I had heard before, which made it into the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, peaking at no. 9 – the Dead’s only top 40 single. I also had known Throwing Stones. The tune I like to highlight here is Black Muddy River, which was co-written by Garcia and Hunter. Gregg Allman covered this beautiful song on his final studio album, which is where I had heard it initially.

Since I realize no Dead playlist could be called as such without any live material, I’d like to include two tracks. The first is from Europe ’72, a triple album released in November 1972: Jack Straw, a co-write by Hunter and Weir.

The last tune I’d like to call out is the epic Fire On The Mountain. This is the version from Cornell 5/8/77, which appeared in May 2017. Initially, the song was included on Shakedown Street, Dead’s 10th studio album from November 1978. It is credited to Mickey Hart, who became a member of the band in September 1967 as an additional drummer, and Hunter.

Last year, Rolling Stone included them as one of “10 new country artists you need to know.” Now, Cordovas are about to release their studio debut on ATO Records

It’s simply amazing what kind of bands you sometimes encounter when going to free summer-concert-in-the-park events, at least in my neck of the woods. Until yesterday, I had never heard of Americana/country rock band Cordovas. Since it was a beautiful summer evening and – big shocker – I enjoy seeing live music, I decided to go to Parker Press Park in Woodbridge, N.J. I’m glad I did!

While this central Jersey town may not exactly be a metropolis, they surely have an impressive summer concert series. Between late June and mid-September, there are frequent concerts each day of the week except for Saturdays. Most days even have a dedicated theme: Mondays are oldies, on Tuesdays they have tribute bands, and on Fridays it’s jazz. As the “king of tribute bands,” my eyes lightened up when I saw their Tuesday theme, so chances are I’ll be back! Anyway, Wednesdays appear to be reserved for artists playing original music. And last night, it was Cordovas.

So who the hell are Cordovas? A five-piece band hailing from Nashville, Tenn. While it’s not entirely clear to me when they were founded, these guys definitely are no beginners, and this isn’t their first trip to the rodeo! Pictured above, the band’s members include (left to right) Toby Weaver (guitar, vocals), Graham Spillman (drums), Lucca Soria (guitar, vocals), Sevans Henderson (keyboards) and Joe Firstman (bass, vocals).

Cordovas’ music features impressive triple harmony vocals and nice double-lead guitar lines. When Rolling Stone described them in the above story, they dropped names like Grateful Dead, Little Feat and The Allman Brothers Band. I could definitely hear some influences from all of these mighty bands last night. Some others that come to mind are CSNY, The Band and early-phase Eagles.

The band’s set included a mix of covers and original tunes. Following is a clip I recorded – frankly, not sure whether that’s one of their own compositions or a cover. In any case, it gives you a nice flavor of the band’s style.

Here’s a second clip featuring the two guitarists performing a nice version of Robert Johnson’sSweet Home Chicago, while the rest of the band took a short break. Blues just never gets boring!

According to a May 6 announcement, Cordovas are set for their debut album on ATO Records for August 10. Based on the band’s website, this record doesn’t appear to be their first. The merchandise section lists their eponymous album on vinyl, adding it is out of stock. One can still get it on Amazon. Apparently, it’s from 2017 and weirdly listed as an import.

Anyway, speaking of the new album, two tunes already are out. Here’s a clip of opener This Town’s A Drag – more great harmony singing and a great Telecaster twang!

And here’s the second track: Frozen Rose. Does this sound great or what?!

I’ll be surely to keep Cordovas on my radar screen. BTW, the band has a busy performance schedule. They just returned to the U.S. from a European tour that had started in early June. Between now and the end of September, they have some 20 domestic dates lined up at what appear to be smaller venues. Some of their upcoming gigs are in Boston (Jul 20), New York (Jul 30), Chicago (Aug 16), Washington (Aug 23) and Cleveland (Sep 5). Frankly, while I never mind a free show, I’d pay money to see these guys!

“One of my first solo shows was in the Wang Theater, then called the Music Hall,” wrote Neil Young on his website in May, talking about his 2018 solo tour that officially ended last night with the second of two dates at the landmark venue in Boston’s Theatre District. “It’s a real beauty folks – a chapel of soul and music. I hope it still sounds as good as it did then and that I do too!” While I wasn’t around when Young played Music Hall in January 1971, I saw him at Wang Theatre on Wednesday night, the first of his two concerts there, and he surely sounded amazing to me!

View of Wang Theatre auditorium from stage

Young was right. The venue is pretty impressive. Take a closer look at the above photo, and you can see the rich ornaments and decorative painting. In addition to its looks, he certainly also well remembered the Wang Theatre’s acoustic, which was great.

While it must be about 40 years ago that Young entered my radar screen with Heart Of Gold, I had never been to one of his shows. When I read about his solo tour a few months ago and noticed it would bring him to Boston, it didn’t take long for me to decide that seeing him was worth a five-hour drive from my house, especially given the tour only had six dates: Two in each Chicago and Boston, and one in each Detroit and St. Louis.

But before I further get to Young, I’d like to acknowledge William Prince, a folk and country singer-songwriter, who like Young hails from Canada. Punctually at 8:00 PM, he walked on stage with just an acoustic guitar and opened the night. Prince is a member of the Pegius First Nation from Manitoba.

In 2015, he released his debut album Earthly Days, for which he won a Western Canadian Music Award for Aboriginal Artist of the Year in 2016 and the 2017 the Juno Award for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year. From that album, here’s Breathless. The look and feel of the performance, which apparently was captured in December, is very similar to Wednesday night. I thought his voice and guitar-playing sounded really nice. Visit his website for more information.

And then it was time for Young. To get an idea what to expect, I checked the previous shows from the tour on setlist.fm. I noticed the sets were relatively constant and included a mix of well-known songs and other tunes that at least to me were deeper cuts. A friend of mine, who is a Neil Young connoisseur and the lead vocalist in an excellent Neil Young tribute band, thought it was a selection for longtime fans.

The stage setup looked a little like a music workshop. It featured areas with different instruments, including an array of acoustic guitars, a semi-hollow electric guitar, two grand pianos and two organs. Young also had multiple harmonicas on hand. During the show, he shared anecdotes about most of the instruments. For example, one of the grand pianos was from the 19th century, and the bottom had been burned during a fire. Young maintained this gave it a very unique sound, adding this tour was the first time he took it on the road. He also pointed to guitars that had once been owned by Stephen Stills and Hank Williams.

Time for some music. I tried capturing some of the songs, and while the audio came out okay, the quality of the video varies quite a bit. The latter was due to challenging lighting conditions and my seat up on the balcony in the back of the theater. There was also what looked like an illuminated stripe in the background above the stage. I’m wondering whether this may have been done on purpose to discourage taking videos, which officially was strictly forbidden.

While I get they don’t want flash photography, I generally find these “no video rules” complete nonsense. Unless you walk in with a professional camera that enables you to record footage you could sell, what damage are you going to do with clips taken with a smartphone? On the contrary, in my opinion, taking and posting such clips on Facebook or elsewhere actually helps promote the artist. Okay, I’m stopping going off on a tangent now. The following is a combination of my own clips and footage from other recent solo gigs.

First up: Pocahontas, a song by Young that first appeared on the Rust Never Sleeps live album from July 1979. Initially, he recorded a version of the tune in the mid-70s for Chrome Dreams, a then-planned but unreleased album.

Ohio was the only Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young tune Wednesday night and one of two songs Young played on the electric guitar. Written by him in the wake of the Kent State shootings on May 4, 1970, the track was released by CSNY as a single in June that year. It was also included on the band’s 4 Way Street live album from April 1971 and the studio compilation So Far, released in August 1974. The tune also appeared on Young’s solo compilation albums Decade (Oct 1977) and Greatest Hits (Nov 2004).

A highlight of the show and perhaps my favorite moment of the night was After The Gold Rush. Young played the title track of his third studio album from September 1970 on a pipe organ. The church-like sound was just incredible. He slightly updated the lyrics by singing, Look at mother nature on the run in the 21st century/Look at mother nature on the run in the 21st century. The performance was incredibly powerful and gave me the goosebumps!

Among Young’s more recent tunes was Love And War. He recorded the song for his 30th studio album Le Noise, which appeared in September 2010. This clip was captured at his June 28 show in St. Louis.

Young finished his regular set with two gems from Harvest, his fourth studio album released in February 1972: The Needle And The Damage Done and Heart Of Gold. Unfortunately, the following clip of Needle, shot in Chicago on July 1, is cut in the beginning but otherwise 10 times better than my attempt to film it.

Here’s the mighty Heart Of Gold. Young may be getting old (though he sounded great!), but not the song.

Young came back for one encore: Tumbleweed, a tune from the deluxe edition of his 34th studio album Storytone from November 2014. He performed it with a ukulele. This clip is from the above St. Louis clip.

For now, Young’s second gig in Boston last night marked the final show of his solo tour. In September, he is scheduled to perform back-to-back at Farm Aid (Hartfort, Conn., Sep 22) and, together with Promise Of The Real, at another Willie Nelson event (Saratoga, N.Y., Sep 23).

Sources: Wikipedia, Neil Young official website, William Prince official website, setlist.fm, YouTube

As oftentimes seems to happen lately, this post was inspired by a coincidence – earlier this week, I spotted 4 Way Street by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in my Apple Music album suggestions. While I had been aware of the record (and somewhere still must have a taped recording on music cassette!), unlike Déjà Vu, it had pretty much exited my radar screen. But it didn’t even take the 34 seconds of the opener Suite: Judy Blue Eyes to remind me what a killer album it is. As such, it felt appropriate to dedicate the 50th installment of the What I’ve Been Listening To feature to this gem.

Originally released in April 1971 as a double LP, 4 Way Street captured music from a turbulent 1970 U.S. tour CSNY conducted after the release of Déjà Vu in March that year. It includes material from gigs at Fillmore East (New York, June 2-7), The Forum (Los Angeles, June 26-28) and Auditorium Theatre (Chicago, July 5). CSNY were at a peak both artistically and in terms of tensions between them. Unfortunately, the latter proved to be unsustainable, and they broke up right after the recording of the album.

From left to right: Graham Nash, David Crosby, Neil Young and Stephen Stills at Fillmore East, New York, 1970

Of course, CSNY never were a traditional band to begin with, but four exceptional singer-songwriters who ended up playing together, mostly as CSN, with Young becoming an occasional fourth member. Each already had established himself as a member of other prominent bands: Crosby with The Byrds, Stills and Young with Buffalo Springfield, and Nash with The Hollies. Additionally, Crosby had released his first solo album, while the prolific Young already had two solo records out – his eponymous debut and the first album with Crazy Horse.

Given their history and egos, it’s not a surprise that CSNY wasn’t meant to last. But while it was going on, it was sheer magic. Apart from Déjà Vu, I think this live album perfectly illustrates why, so let’s get to some music!

First up: Teach Your Children, undoubtedly one of the best known CSNY songs, first appeared on the Déjà Vu album. The tune was written by Nash when he was still with The Hollies.

Triad is a song Crosby wrote while working with The Byrds on their fifth studio album The Notorious Byrd Brothers. Although they recorded the song and performed it during a live gig in September 1967, it didn’t make the record. Crosby ended up giving it to Jefferson Airplane, and they included it on their fourth studio album Crown Of Creation from September 1968. Perhaps even more intriguing than the tune is listening to Crosby’s announcement.

Chicago is a song by Nash, which he dedicated to Richard Daley, who was then the city’s powerful mayor. It’s about anti-Vietnam war and counter-cultural protests around the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and the ensuing federal charges against eight protesters who became known as the Chicago Eight for conspiracy to incite a riot. Nash also included the tune on his debut solo album Songs For Beginners, which was released in May 1971.

Cowgirl In The Sand is one of Young’s great early songs, which initially appeared on his second studio album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, the first of many he recorded with his backing band Crazy Horse. Songfacts points out the liner notes to Young’s 1977 compilation album Decade explain that he wrote Cowgirl In The Sand, together with Down By The River and Cinnamon Girl in a single afternoon while being sick with a 103 degree temperature – it’s quite amazing what a fever can do!

The last tune on the first LP of 4 Way Street is Still’s Love The One You’re With,which also concludes CSNY’s acoustic set. The song became the lead single to Stills’ eponymous debut album from November 1970. It climbed all the way to no. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it his biggest hit single.

The second LP of 4 Way Street captures songs from CSNY’s electric rock-oriented set. Long Time Gone is a tune by Crosby, which was included on CSN’s eponymous studio debut from March 1969. Not that Déjà Vu would have needed any additional strong tunes, but it would have been a perfect fit for that album as well!

Southern Man is another classic by Young, which he included on his third studio album After The Gold Rush released in September 1970. Together with Alabama from his follow-on record Harvest, it triggered a response by Lynyrd Skynyrd with southern rock anthem Sweet Home Alabama. While that tune explicitly tells him to take a hike, the band and Young were actually mutual fans, and there never was a serious feud between them. Young in his 2012 autobiography Waging Heavy Peace: A Hippie Dream said his words in Southern Man were “accusatory and condescending, not fully thought out, and too easy to misconstrue.”

While with so much great material on the album I could easily go on and on calling out tunes, the last track I’d like to highlight is Carry On. Written by Stills, it’s another gem from Déjà Vu. Like Southern Man, the take of Carry On on 4 Way Street is an extended version.

4 Way Street’s musicians include Crosby (vocals, guitar), Stills (vocals, guitar, piano, organ), Nash (vocals, guitar, piano, organ), Young (vocals, guitar), Calvin “Fuzzy” Samuels (bass) and Johnny Barbata (drums). The album was produced by CSNY. In June 1992, an expanded CD version appeared, which was produced by Nash and included four solo acoustic performances, one by each artist.

Like Déjà Vu,the record topped the Billboard 200. It was certified Gold by RIAA just a few days after its release. On December 18, 1992, U.S. sales hit 4 million certified units, giving it 4X Multi-Platinum status. Unlike Déjà Vu, interestingly, the album didn’t make Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time.